Monday, January 22, 2007

How some powerful women insult the rest of us

This essay, by Dana Goldstein, is the best expression of my own frustration with female politicians that I have seen in a while. In "The Mommy Mantra," Goldstein explains why powerful women like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nancy Pelosi need to shut up about their motherhood credentials. The last paragraph is powerful, and could apply to any number of issues. Pandering out of fear is wrong, and those who do not have the courage to stop doing it are not really leaders; they are the enemies of the oppressed groups they represent.

It all started with Rodham Clinton when she was attacked because of the remark she made about baking cookies while her husband was in the White House. She had an opportunity then to deliver a mild apology and give a wink and a nudge, but instead, she turned the moment into years of trying to prove how domestic she is.

I don't care that Pelosi is a grandmother. I don't care that Patti Murray was a soccer mom (can we imprison the person who created that phrase?). Anyone who does care is not going to vote for these women, anyway. The appropriate response to questions about a woman's skills in mothering, cooking, sewing, and helping out at school is: "I'm here, just like my opponents, to talk about election issues. If you really want to talk about recipes, I want to see theirs first."

I'm in complete agreement. I'll never forget the faculty meeting in which, rather than congratulate a colleague for a stunning professional achievement, he mentioned the great lasagna she brought to a faculty potluck...